In a new development, the Changi Airport Group (CAG), Singapore has announced it will suspend operations at Terminal 2 for 18 months from May 1, 2020. The decision has been taken due to a steep decline in passenger traffic and a slow recovery of air travel demand expected in the near term.

Moreover, operations at Terminal 4 have been scaled down considerably due to a “very small number of flights” serving the once-bustling transport hub, stated CAG in a press release. Should these remaining airlines choose to suspend or adjust their flight schedules, CAG will also consider temporarily suspending operations at T4.

Tan Lye Teck, CAG’s executive vice president of airport management, said in a statement, “With airlines suspending flights in response to the sharply reduced travel demand, the consolidation efforts seek to help our airport partners during this difficult time. While the scale of our operations will be reduced in the near term, Changi Airport remains open to serve the airfreight and passenger flights that continue to operate.”

He assured that the airport “will have the flexibility” and will be “ready to ramp up operations quickly once the recovery takes place”.

Meanwhile, the suspension of operations at Terminal 2 will allow for the acceleration of its current expansion work from the previously scheduled 2024 to as early as 2023. CAG is in discussion with airport partners and concessionaires in the terminal regarding options available to them.

For now, CAG has waived all rentals for concessions operating in T4 for two months from March 24, 2020; and with its partners, is identifying retraining and redeployment opportunities for airport staff to protect as many jobs as possible during this downturn.